Daddy's Girl
by RahXephon
Summary: Children grow up under the guidance of their parents. They learn all manner of lessons from them such as love and responsibility. It is no different for parahumans, whom offspring often inherit similar powers. Still, powered or not, you are usually stuck with the folks that birthed you. But what if your parents are interchangeable?
1. I

**Daddy's Girl I**

There were times when Armsmaster felt subsumed by his work. In addition to managing the Protectorate and overseeing a couple dozen of tech projects, he always continued to tinker with his equipment, implementing a few more functions or improving upon an existing method. Sometimes, he felt as if he wished he could make the entire world go away and leave him all alone with his workshop to do as he wished.

But then he'd remind himself to come home, shed his uniform and take the time to cook up a meal for two.

"Katherine! Dinner's ready!"

"Coming dad!"

His little sunshine jogged down the stairs of his cozy, upscale home and took a seat opposite to him of the dinner table. "Pasta again?"

Colin reached out and ruffled his daughter's hair. "I have to start easy, you know."

She smiled back at him, which instantly brightened his otherwise dull and uneventful day. He was so lucky to have a daughter in his life who constantly reminded him the joys of life. He would give his life in an instant if it was necessary to save her. Though she was a lanky, skinny teenager, to him she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever known.

As the two dug into their meals, Kat asked, "So how was work today?"

"Hm, nothing unusual. Patrol was quiet, and I had more excitement dealing with paperwork than keeping the streets clean."

His daughter frowned a little at that. "You're not going to find any dirt on the boardwalks. Why don't you schedule the patrols down at the docks and other gang-infested areas?"

Colin frowned at her question. It was an exceedingly delicate matter that her daughter had no involvement in. Yet when she looked at him with such bright, pleading eyes, he felt his resistance softening. It was just his daughter. What harm could there be in teaching her?

"It would be unseemly for the Protectorate to actively patrol the most gang-ridden territories on a regular basis. Not only do we lack the strength to confront any gang without losses, the escalation that would inevitably result might lead to an unacceptable amount of casualties. For better or worse, we have to tackle the villains patiently, and only engage when they make an opening we can exploit."

"That's stupid." She said back with all the innocence of youth. "Shadow Stalker shows up more in the news than the adult heroes. People are beginning to question whether the Protectorate deserves its paycheck, you know."

As much as he wanted to argue back, he couldn't do that to his daughter. Instead he gave her a patronizing smile. "You'll learn soon enough. By the way, when will you join the wards?"

"Not now. I don't feel confident in my skills." Kat said, but then she smiled at him and unlatched her wristwatch and holding it out to him to inspect it. "I finished working in your suggestions. It can tap into wireless communications even with its jamming function activated. I also smoothed over the other conflicts and finally managed to squeeze in the lockpicking module."

He didn't exactly approve of the lockpicking function, but that was relatively tame compared to her attempts to implement something more dangerous in his daughter's creation. He had to put his foot down several times in order to dissuade her from implementing more than just an electrical jolt for self defense. As he inspected the wristwatch carefully for any major flaws and hazards, he handed it back to her with a mild but proud smile.

"You did a fine job with just the tools in the garage. It's stable and easy to maintain, though I do feel you're holding back."

Kat slipped the watch back on her wrist. "I wanted to make sure non-tinkers would be able to maintain it. Maybe I want to sell my design someday so the rest of the world can take advantage of these nifty functions."

"Hmm it's still a waste of your potential."

They both finished their meals and cleaned the dishes. After an hour of doing their own businesses, they eventually came together in the living room where they both sat down to watch soppy drama. Normally, Colin would rather bash his brain against a wall than watch something so pointless, but if it meant he could spend some more time with his daughter, he'd gladly watch hours of the program.

"About the wards..."

"What is it, Kat? Are you still not satisfied with what you already know?"

"If I'm going to join the wards, I want to make the best impression possible. You already told me about Kid Win, Vista and the rest, but you still haven't told me much about Shadow Stalker."

"She's... not entirely stable. I don't.. want to scare you."

"Let me be the judge of that, dad. Just tell me, please?"

His daughter - despite having almost the exact same powers as him - still had no business knowing about the Wards until she officially joined the group. Yet.. he didn't want to plunge her into the harsh world of parahumans without preparation. He wanted to give her daughter the best headstart possible in order to boost her future career in the Protectorate. Besides, he chuckled to himself, he couldn't resist her pleading eyes.

"Alright, alright, Kat. She's not exactly your average Ward. She's actually on probation, you know. We found her cleaning up the streets with some of her victims bleeding out from that crossbow of hers, and ever since then we've been having trouble reigning her in. Those incidents where she's found in gang territories isn't something I've planned in her patrol schedule. She always seems to find an excuse to 'chase after a fleeing perp' or something and draw out that pursuit to include a wealth of drug dealers and gangbangers."

"Then why haven't you cracked down on her yet?"

"She's not stupid enough to break the rules. I hate to say it, but the PRT taught her enough sense to not only understand the rules, but how to bend them in her favor. I'll be glad to see her off the Wards in two years so she'll be in someone else's hands. I have a bit more choice concerning the Protectorate and there's no way I'll let her in on my team."

She raised her eyebrow at that. "Two years? So she's the same age as me, right?"

He nodded. "And unlike the other Wards, she isn't attending Arcadia. She's attending Winslow like you."

Though why did he let Kat attend Winslow? He frowned internally. Arcadia was a much better school with much less gang influence, and it wasn't like he was short on cash with all his superhero work. But then his daughter pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Oh!" She beamed. "Then I might know her! Who is she, really? I might be friends with her already without knowing it."

"You know I can't tell you that, sunshine." He smiled back at her, messing up her admittedly unruly hair again. "There are rules about these kinds of things."

"But daaaaaaaaad! You already told me the names of the rest of the Wards. What can it hurt to complete the set?"

Yes, what could it hurt? His pride and joy would soon be joining the Wards anyway, so it wasn't like he was leaking highly classified information. He would only be giving her a leg up.

"Alright, dear." Colin sighed. "I don't have to warn you again not to tell anyone, do I? Shadow Stalker's real name is Sophia Hess. She's an African-American, and last I heard she's on the school's track team. Do you recognize her?"

His daughter's smile trembled a little, but before he could ask what was bothering her she quickly hugged him. "Thanks dad, that was exactly what I needed to know!"

Somehow, the conversation veered away from the Wards and to her school performance. Eventually, Kat's bed time approached, and after giving her time to change clothes and brush her teeth, he tucked her in. "I love you, Kat."

"I love you too, dad." She murmured as she closed her eyes and gave him a contented smile.

That single happy smile strengthened his resolve to have her join the Wards. She was more than ready to join and expand her potential from creating gadgets out of household goods and whatever she could afford with the generous allowance he gave. After a good night's sleep, he had breakfast alone, wishing his daughter wouldn't wake up so early in order to jog each morning, and went to work after donning his uniform.

As soon as he reached his office, he booted up his computer and filled in the preliminary paperwork. Miss Militia entered his office with two steaming cups of coffee shortly before he finished the final page.

"Good morning, Colin." She greeted him casually as she placed his cup just in reach of his hand, just the way he liked it. "What are you working on this time? It's too early to file in paperwork, you know. You'll get exhausted before you go on patrol."

"This isn't just a regular report. I'm finally going to apply my daughter for the Wards."

A few seconds passed where the only sounds in the office were the taps of Armsmaster's keyboard.

"Colin.. you don't have a daughter. You're not even married."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't you meet Katherine once when you visited my place?"

Miss Militia put down her cup of coffee and gripped the morphing pistol hanging by her side. "Katherine? You're single, Colin. Pretty much all your life. And you're talking applying a daughter who doesn't exist to the Wards?"

"But.. she's real." He whispered, even as his helmet told him that Miss Militia wasn't lying. He just couldn't believe it. "She even has the same powers as me. The watch she gave me last night was real. She made it with her own powers, powers she inherited from me."

A short silence, before Miss Militia exploded into action. She ran back to the wall and slapped an alarm that caused the office to lock down immediately. The door and window barred shut while Armsmaster's computer shut itself off. Miss Militia brought out her phone and dialed an emergency number.

"Miss Militia here. I need a containment team to take Armsmaster into custody immediately. He's been affected by an unknown parahuman, possibly a teenage girl with the appropriate age to join the Wards. Put the Master/Stranger protocols in effect."

"But she's real.. Katherine's real.." Colin continued to say.

Elsewhere, Taylor felt the connection she had to Armsmaster break. _'A pity, but I knew it wouldn't last.'_ Still, she was glad she got what she wanted out of the relationship, however brief it may have been. She knew a bit more how the PRT worked and got plenty of dirt on the Wards. She even inadvertently found out Sophia's hidden identity, which explained so much. Perhaps it was better that her relationship with Armsmaster ended there. She might not want to find out what she could persuade him to do concerning Sophia.

Taylor looked at her wristwatch, and lamented the lack of insight that allowed her to tinker with it and improve its design. _'If I had a few more weeks, I could have made something even more awesome.'_ At least it was untraceable and wouldn't break down any time soon.

Oh well, it was time for Taylor to find a new daddy.


	2. II

**Daddy's Girl II**

"Papa! I'm home."

Victor looked up from his news magazine (the National Review, which sadly has forgotten its roots but still maintains influence) and beamed a smile at his dearest.

"How was your day volunteering at the hospital, Ella?"

"Great. I haven't been able to come any closer to Panacea, though. Security keeps pushing everyone away, even the staff. They take her safety very seriously."

The man shrugged. "We'll have to be content you still have access to the long-term patients. The doctors - and by extension the Protectorate - won't grow suspicious if elderly patients lose their abilities and talents. It's the best place for empowered individuals like us to strengthen ourselves, and it is best to steal abilities when they have been ripened during an entire lifetime."

His daughter joined him at the lounge and picked up one of the many journals scattered throughout. She flipped through the pages with admirable speed, finishing _Time_ in less than 2 minutes with the help of the speed-reading technique she picked up recently.

As soon as she threw back the magazine, Victor quizzed, "What is the article on page 32 about?"

"It talks about the President's continued policy of non-interference with regards to the human rights violations resulting from the wars in Africa."

Victor nodded appreciatively, proud that his daughter finally mastered speed-reading. "Us Caucasians have no need to intervene in Africa. Let the degenerate primitives wipe themselves out. After a decade or five the entire continent will be devoid of life as the Africans have all conveniently murdered themselves to extinction."

Like a true daughter, Ella agreed with him wholeheartedly. "The entire world will belong to the Aryan race in time."

"One step at a time, my flower." Victor admonished her lightly. "And it won't happen in my lifetime, sadly. It is up to you and all our other young to pick up the torch. That said, you've picked up enough skills now ever since you've triggered. It's time to bring you in the family business."

"You will? Thank you papa!" Ella beamed a smile at him. "Will I finally get to meet Kaiser?"

"Now now, don't be so impatient. Kaiser is a busy man and I wouldn't like to disturb him by introducing an untested parahuman to him, even if you're my own flesh and blood. You have to prove your mettle first."

His daughter seemed a little put out at that. She had been chafing to meet with Kaiser forever ever since she triggered. _'Perhaps she idolizes the boss a little too much.'_ Victor thought, but at least he was reassured that he was the one who held first place in her heart.

"We'll start with something simple, a raid on a small ABB drug operation I've been eyeing for just this moment. It's only a small distribution point, so there's only a couple of yellowskins guarding the place, nothing you can't handle. Othala and I will make sure you won't have to handle more than you can chew."

While Ella seemed nervous at the prospect, Victor did not wish for her to be sheltered forever. She was his progeny, the person who would be destined to make the dream for a White and Pure America come into fruition.

"Do you have to bring Othala with you? She doesn't like me."

Othala again. He shook his head, growing a little firm at her continued dislike for the woman. "Othala is a decent woman. She's just... upset that I hid you from her and the Eighty-Eight. Give it time, and you'll grow on her. She might become your stepmother, you know."

Ella smirked back at him. "Why isn't she, yet? With your skills of seduction - and I know you have them, I can feel it - you could have had the wedding years ago."

"Ah." Victor leaned back against the sofa. "But what is love, if there is no effort? Forceful persuasion leaves an emptiness in your heart, and eventual dissatisfaction in your victim's head. Love is not a machine to be forced to work in your favor. True love is more transcendent, a meeting of two disparate minds but joined in a single purpose. It is a pair of flowers intertwined in such a way that their beauty is far more than the sum of their parts. Much like the love that we share with one another."

For some reason, Ella looked more upset. Victor sighed, and went over to his daughter to hold her in his arms. "If Othala really upsets you, I'll... I'll break it up. While I might to grow to love her as deeply as I love you, you will always be the first in my heart and soul. I love you."

"I love you too. She kissed his cheek, and he kissed her back on her forehead."

After a sumptuous dinner where his daughter once again demonstrated her excellent Michelin Star quality meal, they spent the evening separately before turning to bed. As he was about to turn off the lights in his bedroom, his daughter knocked and opened the door.

"Papa?"

"What is it, my treasure?"

"I'm.. I'm still nervous. Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

"Of course, Ella."

While a part of him disapproved of her need to seek such basic comfort, another part of him just wanted to protect her from all the evils of the world. Feeling his daughter settle next to him and doze off reminded him why he set out to join the Empire Eighty-Eight. He wanted to make America a better place, a safer place bereft of the evils of multiculturalism and other such nonsense. He squeezed his daughter affectionately before fading away into dreams himself, imagining a perfect world where Othala, Ella and himself would be living together in a pure and uncontaminated Brockton Bay.

"..Ikto... Vikt.. Victor!"

A hand roughly shoved Victor awake. Feeling strangely drowsy and fatigued, he only marginally opened his eyes at the intruder. "Wh...Who?"

"Victor, you've overslept by six hours. You never showed up at the morning meeting. Kaiser's really pissed off at you now."

"B..But... oh Scheisse."

With a forceful grunt, Victor roused himself, shoved aside his sheets and left his bed.

Only to collapse in a tangle of confused and uncoordinated limbs. "Whwat?"

"Victor! What's wrong!" Othala yelled as she dropped to his side.

Everything was so confusing to Victor. He tried to make sense of his uncooperative limbs, only to fail. What was happening? What time was it? He looked at his alarm clock, and peered at it for several seconds, only to strangely not make sense of it at all.

"W-What's happening to me? I.. I can't read it.. I can't read the time.."

He couldn't move. He couldn't read the time. What else couldn't he do what he should be easily doing before? He tried to sing a tune that would put an opera singer to shame, only to cause a sharp wince from his girlfriend at the terrible noise he put out. His mind - thankfully sharp enough to keep its intelligence - rapidly came to a single, damning conclusion. "I lost it. I lost all of my skills, and talents, and more."

Othala looked shocked at him. "Everything? Even the ability to walk?"

"It's all gone!" Victor shouted back as he started to lose his composure. Tears swelled as the magnitude of his crippled state fully settled in. He had to get them back, but how?

His daughter! He could borrow a couple of essential skills from his daughter to tide himself over. She would likely be upset at losing so much, but it wasn't as if she could get them back elsewhere. "Where's Ella? She's still at school, right? I need her help to get me back my skills. Call Winslow right now! Tell them it's a family emergency."

While Victor always knew Othala didn't like his daughter, the emergency trumped all other concerns. "Okay, I"ll call the school. Just.. stay tight."

With a huff, Othala lifted Victor back onto his bed and brought up her cellphone, only to find out she didn't know the number of the school. After a quick search on the computer, she eventually got the number and called.

"Yes, I'm calling on behalf of my boyfriend. He had an.. accident and he needs his daughter. Could you please inform Ella..."

After a few minutes of discussion, Othella put down her cellphone and looked at her boyfriend with confusion. "Victor, the school says they don't have a student named Ella there."

"How can that be? Ella.. she always attended Winslow. She came back home every school day to tell me what she learned there."

The two of them sat there in stumped silence.

Meanwhile, Taylor waltzed across the streets of the Boardwalk, reveling in her newly acquired grace and freedom of movement. She hummed a beautiful tune so expertly that she drew in more than a couple of stares. The attention she received - though risky - still gave her a substantial boost in her self-confidence. Even as she felt her connection to Victor break, she was glad that the skills she jacked from her temporary father showed no sign of going away any time soon.

_'Phew. I'm glad all my efforts haven't been in vain. If I have to spend one more night pretending to love that ignorant, racist asshole, I might have done something worse to him...'_

Her stomach, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in a while. She looked around and smoothly walked over to the nearest tourist who looked like he was decently loaded and hooked her arm around his. The slightly overweight man looked startled at the unexpected contact. "What?"

"I'm back, daddy. I'm a little hungry. Can we go eat at that nice Italian place over there?"

"O-Of course, my dear." The tourist replied with a befuddled but increasingly tender smile. "What have you been up to while you were gone, uhm... ehh.."

"It's Sarah. Did you forget my name again?"

"Oh, Sarah! How could I forget! It just slipped my mind..."

His daughter made a grumpy sound. "Well, you can pay me back if you order the nine-course meal."

"Anything you want, baby. Except for wine. You're not old enough."

"Yes, daddy." Sarah beamed back at him, and he couldn't help but feel immensely lucky for having such a beautiful daughter to brighten up his life.


	3. III

**Daddy's Girl III**

Bakuda stormed up the stairs towards Lung's current hideout. She had it with this charade. For weeks, she had stood on the sidelines and see how this newcomer, this teenage _white_ kid somehow convince Lung that she was Sakura, his estranged daughter from Japan. Not only did her boss believe it, he adopted the stupid story wholeheartedly and forced the rest of the gang to follow suit.

There wasn't even a single Asian blood cell in Lung's supposed daughter, and everyone knew it. Even the whitest half-breeds look more true to their more refined race than that bitch Sakura. She stomped to the top of the apartment complex and barged open the door, the bitch probably feeling arrogant enough not to lock the door. _'That's going to be a mistake she won't live to regret.'_

The main room was plunged in shadows, as Sakura had pulled the blinders closed. Still, there was enough light leaking past for Bakuda to see the bitch was lounging on Lung's La-Z-Boy like she owned the world.

"Bakuda." The younger girl drawled, imitating Lung's confidence like she was really one of his progeny. "What do I owe you the pleasure?"

Even now, the girl brazenly addressed Bakuda as if she was somehow superior. The bomb-throwing Tinker sneered back at the bitch, not that she could see it under the gas mask. "The gig is up. You may have fooled Lung and a few of our gullible members, but you I can see the truth, plain as day. You're nothing but a WHITE little bitch with some kind of brainwashing power."

Sakura - probably not her real name, she would have had a boring westerner name like Anna or Taylor - raised a single blasé eyebrow. "So?"

Snarling, Bakuda retrieved a single grenade from her vest and hooked her thumb on the ring that held it safe. "Well you haven't fooled me, little whitey. Oh no you haven't. It's time to correct the little mistake that is your pathetic existence."

"Lung won't be happy when he finds out what you're about to do."

"Fuck Lung! Fuck you!" Bakuda howled. "Ever since you connived your way under his wing, he's grown into a pussy. We've stopped expanding our territory, we're losing revenue from the other gangs, and worst of all he _shut down my fucking workshop_! You've wrapped him around your finger like a little witch, but you didn't got me, oh no you didn't. And soon Lung himself will get back to his senses."

The bitch didn't even bother to stand up and defend herself. Instead, she lazed back deeper in the recliner and spread out her arms. "Do your best. I dare you."

While some part of Bakuda was a little suspicious that Sakura would open herself to an attack like that, the most violent impulses she possessed just wanted this over and done with before the arrogant girl changed her mind. So with that, she primed the grenade and threw it at the impostor timed just for it to explode at the right distance.

The explosion wrecked the girl, the La-Z-Boy and all the other nearby furniture. The shockwave and several debris fragments pelted Bakuda's costumed form, but she knew it wouldn't hurt her. With a grin, she waited for the dust to clear in order to see the full extent of the damage.

"That wasn't very nice, you know." Sakura's growling said as the cloud began to clear. "That was Lung's favorite chair. Now I'll have to visit the IKEA and buy a new one before he gets home."

Bakuda eyes widened at the sight before her. Through the ash, dust and torn clothes, Sakura nonetheless survived the grenade with not a single mark of injury. Worse yet, she wasn't just unharmed, she was _better_.

For Sakura had grown a few inches, grown a lot more body mass, and had her entire form encased in metallic, draconic armor. Her semi-reptilian face smirked confidently at her attacker. "It's my turn now."

_'Shit!'_ Bakuda thought as she reached to her vest for another grenade, this time a special localized time stopper she designed specifically against Lung, but the bitch was somehow even faster and reached her side in a blink of a moment, grabbing hold of her arm and _broke_ the bones underneath a thousand ways.

The Tinker reached out with her other arm, only for Sakura to break that one in turn. She let out a horrendous shriek as she was smoothly crippled by a bitch she was sure could not have been Lung's daughter!

_'How can this be?! How can this white kid be Lung's daughter! She's not Asian at all, yet she's looks so much like him now!'_

"Argh.. you fucking.. BITCH.. you're not his daughter.. no matter how much you copy him.."

With both her arms out of commission, Bakuda had only one more way to trigger her bombs. Sadly, she'd more than likely perish from her own creations, but anything was worth taking out this fucking girl who thought she had defeated the almighty Bakuda.

"See you in hell, you- GHURLK!"

Bakuda never finished her sentence, as Sakura reached out a taloned arm and cleanly snapped Bakuda's neck in half.

After a moment of silence, Sakura dropped the corpse and stood off, staring into nothing as her powers receded into itself. Sakura the Dragon slowly turned back into Sakura the human.

"You can come out now, Oni Lee."

As if nothing happened at all, the infamous teleporter revealed himself from the kitchen entrance. He looked at Sakura with emotionless eyes, paying only mild attention to his former co-villain. "Is it your first time?"

The girl nodded, looking somewhat lost.

"Bakuda deserved it."

"You're not mad?"

Oni Lee chuckled at that silly question. "Bakuda wasn't ABB, she only used us. She's too violent, too full of anger. Her insane plans involved implanting our own members with her crazy bombs. The ABB exists to protect our race, not to use us up in a mindless bid for death and chaos. It's better this way. There is no one more deserving of this fate than Bakuda."

It still left Sakura with a bad taste in her mouth. "I knew this would happen eventually, in fact I hoped for it. I never knew that killing someone would make me feel so bad.. I make for a bad villain, and after this, I can't even pretend to be a hero anymore."

The two shared a couple of stares. Eventually, Oni Lee nodded at her. "I'll clean up the place. You better go to Lung and tell him to stay at another hideout."

Sakura nodded, but before she left the apartment, she went back into the room reserved for herself and changed into a new pair of clothes.

Oni Lee only shook his head and went to the phone to call a squad to clean the mess up. While the ABB had just lost one of its few supervillians, it would come out stronger in the end. Sakura's real identity didn't even matter in the slightest.


	4. IV

**Daddy's Girl IV**

Armsmaster knocked the door and entered Director Piggot's office. The woman spared a suspicious glance at him, but he was used to it. One did not escape from a Stranger interaction unchanged. He had to go through a barrage of tests, ranging from memory recall to letting all sorts of precogs and other capes examine him. They were meant not only to ascertain his physical, mental and parahuman well-being, but were also designed to measure the new cape's aftereffects.

In order to preserve his career and lay off all suspicion against him, he grudgingly volunteered to all of the tests. Even the PRT had to declare him clean after the thorough investigation came up with nothing except for lingering mental debris. And his latent fears about the cape having _stolen _his Tinker power had also proved to be untrue. She merely copied it, and most experts think she couldn't hold it permanently. Some of his co-workers still looked at him with a wary eye, but that was fine. He wasn't out here to make friends.

"Please, take a seat."

Armsmaster sat on the chair opposite to Piggot's desk and laid down the preliminary report of the incident. "This is the latest report. It also contains the test results you asked for."

The obese woman smiled morbidly at him. "That won't do me a lot of good if they say you're completely unchanged."

That wasn't actually true. Sure, he made the impression that the events with his supposed daughter was nothing more than a bump in his career, and that he experienced far weirder things for it to affect him much. The doctors and researchers lapped it all up, mistaking his usual gruff demeanor to casual nonchalance.

In reality, he still remembered every fake memory of raising Katherine as a single dad. From changing her diapers, to bringing her to kindergarten, to putting her to bed almost each and every night, kissing her forehead a good night's sleep. While intellectually he knew that the love he shared with her was a fabrication, his heart (which he only recently rediscovered) cherished the memories the Stranger imparted on him. The memories made a huge impact on him and he could not and would not forget them as the rest of the PRT would like him to do so. It pained him even now to be separated from her. He desperately craved more companionship, and he dearly wished to experience that kind of unconditional love again no matter what.

He'd rather resign from the Protectorate than let them cut off his heart.

Turning back to the meeting, Armsmaster made his verbal report. He already reported on his own condition a day earlier, so he tread upon new ground instead. "I began investigation on the other gangs, see if they suffered similar incidents. I suspect the new cape wouldn't be satisfied with targeting us, and I was right."

Piggot picked up the report and turned to the pages detailing that part. "Ah, so she chose Victor next. That is.. unfortunate."

The superhero nodded. "Our sources at the E88 are very clear on this, as Victor hasn't made any attempt at hiding his displeasure to his subordinates. She is targeting her victims carefully. She chose me for information about the PRT and acquire some Tinkertech for herself. I can only surmise she used Victor to gain his innumerable amount of skills and talents."

That raised the threat profile of the new cape drastically. While it was a question whether those skills would stick on her once she lost hold of Victor's power, at the very least some would stick. Considering that Victor was a master in such variety of skills as dancing, shooting, driving, martial arts and more, it made the new cape a pain to take into custody even without a new patron cape.

"It gets even worse." Armsmaster added, and gestured Piggot to turn the page.

"She's with Lung now."

The girl hadn't made any attempt at concealing the truth with the rest of the Azn Bad Boys, making it child's play for the PRT's informants to relay the pertinent news back to headquarters.

The problem was, the Protectorate and the PRT couldn't do a damn thing. It was as if the cape deliberately chose to turn to Lung for shelter to spite them both.

Though it was ultimately pointless, for the record he still had to ask. "Can you grant me permission to locate her and apprehend her?"

"No. Absolutely not." The director replied immediately, slamming down the report on her desk. "While we have a contingency plan to capture Lung that could also be modified to apply to this new cape, we cannot handle two Lung-like parahumans at the same time. Capturing one while likely enrage the other, while taking them on simultaneously will likely result in complete catastrophe. We'll be lucky if even one building remains standing in Brockton Bay when it's all over."

Worse yet, the Stranger cape likely knew it from all the information she pried off him while she was under the guise of Katherine. She could even brazenly walk along the entire Boardwalk alone and force the Protectorate to cower deep inside headquarters for fear of setting her off even once. And god forbid if the Empire Eighty-Eight or some other party would manage to earn the ire of both her and Lung at the same time.

Piggot knew that too, of course. "I'll have to form up additional contingency plans to take two Lung-like parahumans into account. We'll have to call in the Triumvirate in at the very _least_. As if it couldn't be any worse. Can you at least tell me you've made some headway into her background or identity?"

"In fact, I do have a promising lead." He smiled for the first time in this meeting. "From what she told me herself and what the informants at the E88 have gathered, she posed as a student at Winslow High School both times. I've been looking up the students and see whether any girls have been missing recently. A couple of parents will be brought here later today in order to question them. I'm highly optimistic one of them are related to the Stranger."

"Good. I'd like for you to get to the bottom of this case as soon as possible. Her potentially formidable powers combined with all the information you leaked to her is making the brass _very _nervous. They want this cape under control before she ends up in the clutches of someone like Jack Slash."

Armsmaster nodded a final time and left without a word. He wasn't a man of empty promises and reassurances. He was a man of action and deed. He was going to do everything in order to get the dangerous cape - codename _Daddy's Girl_ - in his custody before Piggot would be forced to punt this higher up. _'This is my city. I won't let anyone else take it away from me.'_

He went through the elevator and entered his familiar office. Before he would get to work preparing for the questioning of the parents, he had one more thing to do. This time he paused, before activating a communicator.

His computer screen blanked out, before showing a darkened representation of Dragon's visage. "Good morning Colin. Is there something you need? Do you require more information about Daddy's Girl?"

"No, not that." He replied a little tersely. "I have all the information I need. I have a more.. personal request."

"Oh?" Dragon said with an intrigued tone. "Do tell."

"Would you... like to go out with me?"


	5. V

**Daddy's Girl V**

Lung did not regret the choices he made in his life. What point was there to wonder if things had been different? He should have tried harder in school. He should have never joined a gang. He should have never lost to Leviathan in Japan. He had made many mistakes over the course of his life, but the one thing that mattered most was that he survived the turmoil and became better in both body and mind.

No longer did he foolishly test his strength against ever-greater threats and thirst for greater conflict. Nothing could top the pinnacle that was Leviathan. All knew he fought the Endbringer head-to-head and came out alive. The amount of parahumans who could equal him in power were few and far in between.

He survived long enough for age and experience to purge all traces of his foolish youth. He survived long enough to escape the desolating influence of the Yàngbǎn. To make it to America and take over a gang for his own purposes with blood and violence.

He would not let his daughter suffer the same struggles and learn the same lessons he learned the hard way. "Eat your vegetables, Sakura. You must grow strong and tall if you want to amount to anything in this man's world."

"Yes father." His daughter rolled her eyes. Only she was allowed to show such brazen disrespect to him. Anyone else would have left the restaurant with a couple of broken bones. "I don't think it even matters with our regeneration. Can we even starve to death?"

"It is best not to find out."

He had made many mistakes in his younger years, but fathering Sakura was the best mistake of them all. Despite having missed most of her upbringing, her offspring had grown to be a beautiful and strong young lady, a fitting heir to carry on his legacy.

The hustle and bustle of the local Chinese restaurant slowly slackened a little as most of the rush hour patrons paid their bills and left to carouse the night elsewhere. Lung and his daughter capped their meals over a pot of fresh lavender tea.

"How have you been performing in school?"

"I'm doing well enough, father. I'm getting better grades in math."

Lung nodded in approval. "I expect you to keep up the improvement. Knowledge is very important in this age. The potential of our powers only carries us so far. Our physical strength only represents raw power. Real power is refined. Directed. Efficient. Without intelligence to guide your power, you will only be able to grasp empty air."

His memory momentarily revisited that fateful night where he and his other friends tried to fight a seemingly invincible woman and lost. They lost not because she could lift trains, or run as fast as an airplane, but because she directed her actions with such _minimal_ effort yet achieve _total _victory. That single moment defined the rest of his life,

"Yes, yes, father, you told me a thousand times already." Sakura lazily replied as she took a sip of her tea.

Inwardly, Lung sighed. Though she was beautiful and perfect in her own way, he did wish she'd be more attentive to his lessons. Yet he never dreamed for a moment of forcing her to listen. She was his flesh and blood. Hurting her would be hurting himself a thousand times over.

No, it was better for him to let his daughter enjoy her springtime of youth. She was of an age where she could still afford to face the world with confidence. Later... later, she'd learn. And grow a little wiser. Then Lung would step in and teach the rest.

Lung basked in the companionship of his daughter while patiently finishing his own cup of tea. They shared a lot of moments like this together, where silence was far more prevalent than conversation. Yet he was content. People like Sakura and him had no need for insignificant talk. They were both smart enough to know what the other was thinking, and convey any affection to each other with their eyes and body language.

If he had his way, he would live this moment a million times more. There was no greater satisfaction to a man's life than to love a daughter shaped in his own image, and for her to love him back. Ultimately, it was not money, or drugs, or whores that satisfied him. It was the comfort that he had a daughter dependent on him that drove him to wake up each day with pleasant anticipation.

Sadly, it wouldn't last forever. One of his attendants put away his cell phone and approached their table. He leaned in to his ear. "Sir, I've just received urgent news from Oni Lee. The dockside stash has been hit. By the time he and his response team failed to stop the raid in time. We've lost several hundred thousand dollars in cash."

Lung calmly placed down the cup before he did anything worse to his. With gritting teeth, he quietly growled, "Who dared?"

"According to the guards that Oni Lee questioned, it was the Undersiders."

Again. Anger coursed through his body to such a degree that he had to will himself to calm down lest he shame himself in front of his daughter.

"Dismissed."

Despite posing as the leader of a mere street gang, Lung had reached the cusp of heaven as far as he was concerned. His duel against Leviathan more than proved his mettle. None dared to provoke him - and by extension his gang, least of all the Protectorate themselves. Lung had made enough of a reputation that even the fear of fighting him would stop most conflicts.

It was highly unfortunate that the upstart Undersiders didn't receive that message. He was long overdue for another demonstration of what would happen if anyone dared to cross his interests.

But before he could rise from his seat and plan his retribution, his daughter unexpectedly called him out. "Father, wait. I overheard the message."

Figures. Even in their unevolved forms, their power still granted them superhuman traits. Lung was still not used to having someone else present with better than average hearing.

"I know you want to kill the Undersiders but.. it would go too far. They're just teenagers, for heaven's sake. I don't think they mean much harm!"

Lung scowled back. "It is not my fault they chose to make light of the ABB. All know the consequences of rousing the ire of the dragon. I take no pleasure in hunting them down, but _it must be done_."

That would have been the end of the discussion right there, if not for Sakura's next words. "Wait, father! The Undersiders might be villains, but they're also small fry. It would be overkill for you or even Oni Lee to handle them. Let _me_ take care of the problem."

That was an insane suggestion, yet... Lung could not help but feel intrigued. Could she?


	6. VI

**Daddy's Girl VI**

Taylor reveled in the power she beheld. It was a far cry from her trigger, when she reached the bottom of her emotional pit. She went from getting pushed around by everyone to becoming one of the strongest parahuman in Brockton Bay. Not even Sophia could dent her now.

Without her powers, she would have never gained this much confidence in herself. Experiencing life under different fathers made a world of difference to her. The world wasn't as bleak and miserable as Taylor Hebert had suffered. She had been reforged into someone new under the gentle tutelage of her other dads.

Not all daddies were the same, of course. Armsmaster meant well, but bumbled around more often than not. Victor treated her like a princess, but had much less heart against those with different skin color.

Lung on the other hand treated her like an adult. As an extension of himself, to be more precise. That was... comforting and refreshing. Taylor felt no need to be babied around and let her daddy protect her from the rest of the world. She wanted to be _taught_ and _raised_ to become better, and Lung was nothing if not the best of them all. That was why she stuck with the Asian supervillain much longer than any other dad. Lung was not sappy or patronizing as most dads, nor was he a powerless victim who couldn't offer any help like her first dad. Only the fact that he was a unrepentant supervillain made her hesitant of staying permanently under his wing.

_'But that's for later.' _Taylor tapped her wristwatch, following the route set by her tracking program. The Undersiders appeared to have a hideout in this area of the city. The empty streets at night were lined with piss-poor apartment buildings and derelict industrial workplaces. Perfect for gangs.

"Stop making so much noise." She growled at the gaggle of underlings that Lung forced her to take along.

The gang members shuffled a little more quietly, but she could hear their grumbling well enough. Their displeasure at being led around by a 'white girl' didn't matter the least, since they stood no chance at opposing her. Bakuda's example firmly taught them well.

Sometimes Taylor wished she wouldn't have to resort to consorting with gangs. Yet for all her power, she still did not fit in anywhere else. She was what the PRT called a Stranger, someone who messed around with another person's perceptions. People like her had no place among the ranks of heroes. Even if she wished to suck it up and join the Wards alongside Sophia, she would never be fully trusted. It was better to go at it alone, or find shelter with other villains who were at least as dysfunctional as herself.

Even if she was forced to get her hands bloody now and then. Bakuda wouldn't be the last person to lose her life to Taylor.

She held so much power now, more than she thought she could have, but still she hungered for more. Taylor wanted to escape the role of the victim. Never again would she be put into the misery of her pre-Trigger life. The civilized society of today's world was nothing but a thin veneer that hid a much more brutal urban wilderness. For all of his current father's musing, strength and power still determined the victors and victims.

What she planned to do to the Undersiders was a cruel irony in that regard. Taylor, a bullying victim, was currently hunting down a gang of underpowered teenagers in order to 'teach them a lesson' with her overwhelming strength. In other words, she was about to become a bully.

_'But I'm nothing like Sophia. I'm not going to inflict pain because I enjoy it. I do it because the alternative would be worse.'_

Perhaps she was lying to herself, just a little.

They moved quickly, her Tinker creation having found a solid fix on the gang. They ended up at the right street in no time. Taylor halted, letting her goons catch up. She eyed their readiness and their equipment. They wore a ramshackle of cheap Chinese clothing in the traditional ABB colors. Their disguises that shielded them from the authorities amounted to nothing more than hoodies, bandannas and even washcloths wrapped around their heads. At least her own metal mask - modeled after her father's of course - lent a certain amount of gravitas. As for weapons, most of her minions carried clubs or other vaguely solid implements.

Some had very dubiously misheard some of her commands earlier this night, and brought along some pistols as well. This was fairly standard - even required - when going up against other parahumans, but Taylor did not want to risk the death of another child, villains though they may be. She frowned at the guilty members.

"The Undersiders are just a bunch of kids. If you see them, don't shoot. Just keep them busy until I take care of them, alright?"

Having made that clear, Taylor turned around and started her anticipation for the coming fight. Already she could feel her flesh begin to ripple and expand. _'Just a little more...'_ She sent out her underlings further into the street and ordered them to surround the structure that was certain to be their hideout.

"Undersiders! I know you're in there! Come and face me!"

Of course, they escaped from the back. Sounds of chaos and fighting erupted from the other side of the building.

In response, Taylor nicked a pistol from a nearby henchman and shot at both of her legs before she could question her sanity. The pain was overwhelming, but receded quickly as her enhanced regeneration kicked up a notch. With her new inhuman legs and strengthened body, she made rapid progress to the other side.

Spotting one of Bitch's monstrous hounds, Taylor charged right at it with an announcing roar. The frightened creature was quick enough to move aside its considerable bulk, but it could not shield itself from the flames that parted from Taylor's mouth.

Two of the dog's passengers were forced to jump off and use its mass as a shield against the flames. Before Taylor could step forward and capitalize on their vulnerability, her entire world plunged in darkness.

_'This is Grue's power. it's just as disorienting as Lung had described.'_

Every sense of left, right, forward and backwards had disappeared. No sounds protruded out of the inky darkness, and even touch could fail. Yet Lung provided her with a simple solution.

Go up.

Taylor used her powerful legs to escape the befuddled confines of her smoky cage. The darkness had extended quite a large portion of the street, but it did not reach more than two stories up. It was easy enough for her to land on the roof of the Undersider's hideout and spot the black, leather-wearing cape that produced the smoke trying to lead his team away. She pounced on him, jumping right in front of the cape with such speed and force that the shock wave of her landing alone served to interrupt his business. A few more painful taps and he was out like a light, clearing up the battlefield instantly.

The rest offered no challenge. The Undersiders might be masters of manipulation and evasion, in a direct fight they were woefully underpowered. Regent's little parlor trick couldn't overcome the sheer strength of her muscles. Bitch's dogs proved too easily susceptible to fire. Any attempt at escape only opened them up to further pain as Taylor rapidly caught up.

The girl who could only be the cape known as Tattletale dropped her pistol and raised her hands. At least she was smart enough to figure out a lost cause.

"You're some piece of work, 'Sakura'." Tattletale smirked at her, even as she knelt on her knees in apparent submission. "Kidnapping men, rewriting their memories, and taking callous advantage of their forced generosity. Some superhero you are."

Taylor didn't know much about Tattletale, only that she was a Thinker who always knew more than what she ought to know.

Growling menacingly, Taylor had no time for games. She lurched forward and kicked Tattletale flat on her back, eliciting a cry of pain. Taylor compounded it by placing a foot on one of her arms. "It was a mistake for your band of misfits to hit the ABB. We don't take kindly to interruptions. Where is the money?"

"We spent it all on pizza and coke." Tattletale half-seriously stammered. "By the way, how well do you think your dad - your first one, not the teddy bears that came after - would think of you if he could see you now?"

Oh she did not just go there. Taylor mercilessly broke Tattletale's arm, then the other one, and kicked her in the ribs for good measure. That succeeded in shutting the mouthy bitch up.

"You have no business prying into my affairs. This is about you and the Undersiders right now. Tonight was just the warning shot. If you come _anywhere_ near the ABB again, it won't be me who'll be coming after you. It'll be my father, and he won't be nearly as restrained as me."

And Taylor meant it, damn her earlier intentions. Tattletale had no right to judge her. _'I'm not a villain, damnit.'_ She was far more enlightened than a bunch of brats playing parlor tricks. Unlike them, Taylor was out to change city, and from there, the world.

After making sure the rest of the Undersiders understood, Taylor left the streets with her gang before the Protectorate showed up. The sound of Armsmaster's motorcycle faded in the distance as her group made their way back to ABB territory on a nondescript bus.

Lung received Taylor with pride. Sakura was growing up to be such a proper supervillain.


	7. VII

**Daddy's Girl VII**

Something profound was missing. Lung was sure of it. He looked around the restaurant where he quietly enjoyed his lunch, and felt a gaping absence that he should have noticed earlier. He stared at the empty chair opposite of him, and finally realized the missing link.

"Where is Sakura?"

None of his attendants answered him. He repeated his question more forcefully.

Oni Lee finally answered him. "Sakura is.. missing. For three days now."

The news prompted Lung to put down his chopsticks and forget his half-eaten meal. "At school?"

A short pause. "Our younger members haven't seen her there."

"Was she taken?"

"No. I think she simply.. tired of her presence here. She has spread her wings and left our nest."

Lung's face turned into a dark frown. "She is far too young to face the world alone. She still needs more guidance and protection."

His daughter inherited more than just his powers, it seemed. Lung had planned to temper her inevitable youthful impulses and prevent her from making the same mistakes he had made. Her absence threw a wrench in his plans.

"Oni Lee."

"Yes sir?"

"Find Sakura. Bring her back."

"And if she proves... obstinate?"

"Then inform me. I will take care of it."

Oni Lee nodded and disappeared, leaving Lung to brood on this new development. It felt wrong to live on this world without his daughter. The ABB was just a shell without the warmth that Sakura provided with her presence. No matter what possible reason Sakura had to leave his custody, Lung had to get her back before she did something foolish. His world could not be complete without his favored flower by his side.

"Sakura.. what are you up to?"

Elsewhere, Armsmaster set aside the folder of yet another dud. He had interviewed three parents so far, and all he got so far from them was that they had very little clue their daughters were caught up in gang-related activities until it was too late. At best, the girls were working as mere henchmen. At worst...

He shook his head, casting aside yet another set of horrible memories. Humans could be exceedingly cruel to one another. He found it harder to stomach now that he had experienced the taste of fatherhood.

Perhaps he would come to experience that kind of bliss again. Dragon had tentatively accepted his offer to go out on a date. Somewhat. After a fashion. _'Even if she's only willing to date me through a remote-controlled android, it's a foot in the door.'_

Other people would surely be laughing at them both, but that was the price he had to pay to initiate a relationship with the only woman he truly respected.

He cut off his musings as the next parent entered the questioning room and automatically took a seat at the table. Armsmaster brought up the relevant file and traced the man's name. "Mr. Danny Hebert, welcome to the PRT. Thank you for accepting our invitation."

The weary-looking man nodded somewhat gratefully at him. "I would do anything to get my daughter back. I _need_ to know where she is, if she's fine, if she's.. still alive."

Armsmaster slipped a sketch of Katherine as he last remembered her to the man. He took it with trembling hands and stared at it with piercing eyes. "That's her. That's my little Taylor."

Any remaining fatigue flew away as the superhero sat up straighter. Did he finally get a match? "Did you bring an up-to-date photograph of your daughter, Mr. Hebert?"

"Yes.. of course."

Danny slipped a picture of the girl smiling a bit forlornly from a couch in the living room. Now it was Armsmaster turn to skip a breath, as he saw Katherine plain as day on this fragile piece of paper.

"I think we can safely determine that Kat-, excuse me, Taylor Hebert is in fact the parahuman we have been looking for."

"So she's alive! Where is she!?"

"That we do not know, sadly, but we believe her to be hiding somewhere in the city. Her powers make it fairly difficult to pin her down."

Katherine had evidently tired of staying with Lung. The PRT's informants all reported that 'Sakura' had gone missing, evidently leaving Lung on her own. Where she was now was a total mystery.

But now that Armsmaster finally pinned down Katherine's original identity, he could begin to construct a better image of her motivations. "Parahumans always trigger - manifesting their powers - from stressful situations. I imagine she did not lead an easy life. Could you describe her difficulties?"

Danny lowered his face in his hands. "It was all my fault. It began a year ago, maybe earlier. Taylor started having trouble at school..."

The father painstakingly told Armsmaster what he knew. About the bullying. The isolation. The falling grades. All culminating in an incredibly cruel incident where Katherine was shoved in a locker full of filth and left to fester there for many hours. Hearing what his daughter had actually gone through all these years just made Armsmaster boil inside his armor. Whoever did this had a lot to pay for. "Did she mention who the bullies were at school?"

"Not.. really, not to me. I was so angry when I saw what happened to her at the locker. I wanted to sue her bullies, sue the school, but she said it was pointless. It.. it also didn't help that the school had washed their hands. A court case.. we just didn't have the money. So we basically surrendered and let the school quietly cover Taylor's hospital bill. I hoped it would have been the end of it, but the bullies.. they kept tormenting my girl. I only found out their names after she left, when I found her notes in her room."

Danny leaned over and opened his bag, revealing a pile of paper and notebooks. "She collected this much evidence, yet she never thought she could win in court."

Armsmaster found that hard to believe. The notes were too detailed. The printouts of e-mails could be used to find a link to the relevant web accounts and physical addresses. The locker incident alone couldn't happen by itself. Combined with this much evidence, it was a surprise the bullies hadn't ended up in juvie yet.

Then he spotted a single, damning name, and found out that nearly every page Taylor had built up contained that name. Sophia Hess. _'Shadow Stalker.'_

He was not a stupid man. He figured out the situation quickly enough. _'Shadow Stalker has always been aggressive. Winslow knew of her cape identity, kept it hidden out of possessive rivalry against Arcadia. They tolerated her excesses, even as heavy as this locker incident. Winslow went even further than that, and covered up the incident to the Protectorate when they should have notified us.'_

An attempt at reforming a recalcitrant vigilante had ended up in the total suffering of an innocent girl. His Katherine endured so much abuse that she eventually triggered herself. And Armsmaster had been indirectly responsible for that chain of events. _'The PRT and I have done a huge disservice to Katherine. I.. she must hate me so much now.'_

The guilt and pain gnawed in his stomach, and he wanted to do nothing more than cry forgiveness to his missing daughter. Yet he still had a job to do, and recomposed himself as best he could. "Mr. Hebert.. rest assured that the PRT and I will be taking your daughter's records utmost seriously and validate each incident described in these papers. The bullies _cannot_ be allowed to roam free. I promise you that all three of them will receive more than substantial punishments."

Danny went back on track with his recollection. He described the days after Katherine had been discharged from the hospital. She attended school again, only to come back home in more terrible states. Clothes would be dirty, school supplies would be missing. It was taking quite a bit of their income just to replace it all. Her grades plummeted even further and worst of all, her eyes grew just a bit more lifeless after each tiring school day.

"I couldn't let it happen, you know? The bullies kept tormenting her, but no matter how many times I call the school, they tell me there's no hard evidence and that they can't do a single thing. As if all their teachers are blind and deaf! I would ask my girl how she's doing at school, and to tell me if she has any trouble, but she's.. she's stubborn, in a way. She always told me she was fine and that nothing was wrong even if it was obvious that she had cried her eyes red only an hour earlier. I couldn't do anything to help her. My hands were tied. It was impossible for me to fix her problems."

Colin more than sympathized Danny's situation. But another part of his mind just wanted to punch this man's face for letting his daughter suffer so much. _'Nothing is ever impossible if the life of your child is at stake.'_

"What led to her eventual running out, Mr. Hebert?"

"I hit her."

"What."

"I hit her." Danny repeated, tears starting to well up in his eyes. "I was at my wits end. I didn't know _anything_ about her school situation other than the locker incident. I.. I just imagined if I knew a bit more about what she's going through, then I could have figured something out. But she just clammed shut when I asked, staring me at those almost dead eyes, growing more stubborn for the most stupidest reason imaginable. I grew frustrated.. and let the anger get the better of me."

Armsmaster ground his teeth, but kept his temper in check. Danny on the other hand practically broke down from guilt and regret.

"I regretted it immediately. I came to my senses and said I'm sorry. But.. it was too late. Taylor just stood still for a very long time, minutes perhaps... I didn't even hit her too hard, it was only a hard slap.."

"Get on with it please."

"Sorry, sir. My daughter eventually came back. She.. she turned her eyes at me with even less life than before, and.. she said something to me before she ran away."

"What did she say to you?"

"Taylor told me that she never had a father."


	8. VIII

**Daddy's Girl VIII**

Skidmark growled as he slammed open the warehouse door and entered the illicit operation like he owned the place. Which he did. What had been a successful and highly profitable synthetic drug production center was now a burnt out wreck. The acrid smell still lingered heavily, and if he was a smarter man he might have questioned the wisdom of inhaling it all.

"I can't salvage shit from this molten slag." Squealer said as she entered after him. "It's fucking ruined."

"SHIT!" Skidmark yelled, and kicked a nearby upturned bucket. He cursed again and created a field under a pile of carbonized barrels, sending them flying off against a blackened wall.

He had reason to be so furious. This location had been one of his few crown jewels of the Merchants. While his gang still worked with the usual offerings such as cocaine, the other gangs had access to much more solid suppliers. The Merchants had to make do with single shipments at higher prices.

One of his first actions upon taking over the Merchants was to find a way to do it in house. Making synthetic drugs right here allowed him to circumvent the middlemen, resulting in much higher markups.

Now it was all gone, burned to a crisp. "Who the fuck did this to us?"

"No idea boss."

Worst of all, he had no one to blame, no one to take his revenge on. It could have been the ABB or the Empire Eighty-Eight. The other gangs often looked down upon the Merchants, as if they were doing anything nobler than what Skidmark and his underlings were doing. _'When Lung and Kaiser are selling whores and drugs, they're doing something respectable, but when I do the same, we get called out as trash. It isn't fucking fair.'_

He was doing a fucking public service for God's sake. The Merchants accepted anybody, no matter their race, intelligence or hygiene standards. Sure, most of Skidmark's street level muscle were indistinguishable from homeless people, but that was because he had the generosity to recruit them all and provide them with a little bit of food and shelter. His gang was far larger than anyone else had realized. He had eyes and ears everywhere, and he earned quite a substantial amount of income with trading in information.

Yet for all the bums and thugs on his payroll, none of them had a clue who just hit his most profitable enterprise. It was a fucking disaster that would certainly see most of their comfortable living threatened.

"Shitstain! Where the fuck are you, you useless piece of shit?!"

"Coming, dad!" His pathetic excuse of a daughter answered as she turned away from the pile of melted plastics that used to hold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs. The bitch was taking her fucking time as usual, so he whipped up his special field under her feet to hurry her along.

Shitstain yelped as his father's forces propelled her forwards. She tumbled across the ground and might had gone right past Skidmark and crash against the opposing wall if she didn't create a field just ahead to counter her momentum. His dumb little shit should have stayed nearby instead of wandering off like a moron.

"Don't ever get away from me without my say so again, got it?"

"Y...Yes dad.."

"Good. Now stop licking the goddamn floor and clean up this mess. Get a hold of that dick in Boston and pry some of that fancy chemical shit from him to replace this stinking mess."

"Okay, dad."

"And get it done in a month, or you're going to start earning your living in the whorehouse!"

Sad thing was, Skidmark knew that Shitstain could get the job done. No matter how much he beat some sense in her or tried to put her in her place, she always managed to do things _better_ than he could do himself. She was barely out her diapers and already she was showing him up in managing money and making business deals.

Despite this major setback, the Merchants were still in a good position. The ABB was growing more complacent, letting Skidmark's men encroach upon their territory and nibble away at their business. As long as he didn't make a big push, he was reasonably sure that Lung would continue to sit upon his lazy ass.

The more the big shots busied themselves with fighting over the best territories, the Merchants would be waiting between the cracks, picking up the pieces and extract every last bit of profit. In a rare bout of long-term vision, Skidmark saved some of the money that trickled in and used it to build up a formidable arsenal.

Not only that, he put out feelers to out-of-state criminals. If the Merchants would ever be able to best the ABB and E88, they needed to match both their numbers and their parahuman firepower.

"Squealer, did you get word back from the mercenaries?"

His skank of a girlfriend spat the ground. "The mercenaries turned down our fucking offer. The Travelers chose to work with Coil over us, while Faultline didn't even bother to meet with our guy."

The fucking snobs. Skidmark sneered at the thought of the two visiting mercenary groups. Even they took too much stock at the Merchants' rotten reputation. _'Well, it's their loss.'_ If he couldn't get what he wanted out of the conventional mercenaries, he just had to scrape deeper down the barrel.

"What about the Slaughterhouse Nine? Did we get a hold of them yet?"

Squealer shook her head. "They're fucking hard to find for a reason, boss. And I'm not so sure your opening offer is gonna interest them."

He slapped her face. "Don't question my fucking genius, bitch. I know what those killers want. They want fame, bodies and a couple of toys to play with. I've got plenty in mind to tempt the murderers."

Skidmark wasn't content to hide in the dregs of Brockton Bay forever. He just needed a year or more to build up the Merchant's strength and wait for an opening before finally letting the rats out of the woodwork. Brockton Bay would be his, and no one would laugh at him anymore.

Even if the Slaughterhouse Nine had to wipe out half of the city first.


	9. IX

**Daddy's Girl IX**

Coil enjoyed a quiet lunch in his office in one of his underground bases. While eating, he pondered the recent changes in the status quo. As one of the subtler supervillains of Brockton Bay, most of the city thought he was a non-factor, his presence at a minimum.

The truth was very different, however. He had eyes and ears everywhere, but unlike the Merchants _his_ agents blended in at all layers of society. So when his spies started to report some unusual occurrences, Coil took notice, and analyzed the pattern.

_'Daddy's Girl has been wandering around, infiltrating every faction in order to glean their inner workings. It was only a matter of time before she wormed her way into my clutches.'_

He chuckled darkly at what he had in store for her. If some two-bit Stranger thought she could out-scheme him, she had another thing coming. He made sure to read the same message each day, a message he composed himself that described the existence of the Stranger and pictured his own family tree, highlighting the lack of spouse or children next to his name. On top of that, he ordered all his mercenaries to read a similar message and occasionally question him and each other how their 'daughters' were doing. If anyone was found to have an extra daughter they didn't have before, then they would have been quickly brought to their senses, as had happened to Coil himself. Thankfully it didn't take much for him to realize the deception.

Coil finished his breakfast and left the dishes for an attendant to clear. He left his office and went down to another part of the base. The armed guards saluted him as he made his way over. "Open the cell, please."

One of the guards unlocked the heavily reinforced cell door, allowing Coil entry into the barren room. Cell was a bit of a misleading word. He had brought many tools into the room, turning it into an impromptu torture chamber. Veronica, his 'daughter', hung beaten and bloodied from her cuffed wrists, which hung attached to a hook extending from the ceiling. Coil admired his handiwork before picking an electric prod. He made sure to spool it up and release a couple of electrical charges.

"Let's start this interrogation again, dear daughter. I hope you will prove more cooperative this time."

He started off by electrocuting her stomach. Her screams were painful, and if she had been his real daughter, he might have felt some mild disgust. Only mildly, though. He had experienced and inflicted much worse for him to feel much of anything these days.

"It's rather futile, you know. I have everything in hand. I prepared for your coming even before you showed up at my doorstep. I knew who you are, and what you're capable of doing. You're not as good as you think you are. Anyone with a decent mind could think of contingencies."

Though she had been worked on quite a bit, Veronica still glared defiantly at Coil through the pain. "Your time has run out."

What?

The lights suddenly blinked as a distant impact made itself known. Soon enough, alarms started to blare. Frowning, Coil turned away and opened the cell door. "What is happening?"

One of the guards conversed with one of the operators of the command center through his head set. "It's the ABB. they've found our base and assaulted us. Lung.. is leading the charge."

Girlish laughter sounded out from the cell. "You didn't think I came unprepared, did you?"

_'That devious little bitch.'_ Coil thought, even as his mind raced for a response. "None of us can stop Lung. Where are the Travelers?"

"They're defending the entrance, but they aren't having much success against Lung. Oni lee is running interference and is preventing Sundancer from building up a shot."

Damn. Scowling even further underneath his mask, Coil brought up his own communicator and connected to the control room. "This is Coil. It is obvious we stand no chance against the ABB. All forces, delay the ABB's advance as best as we can, but prepare to evacuate. Initiate self-destruct. Also.. free Noelle. We need her to slow down Lung."

"But sir, we-"

"DO AS I COMMAND!"

With that done, he upholstered his pistol and went back inside. He had one more mess to clean up before he made his getaway. He aimed his gun and-

The nearest wall burst into chunks as a giant mass of metallic flesh burst through. Some chunks that made up the wall crashed against Coil's thin form. Lung in all of his fiery glory had arrived, and he looked none to glad at the situation. He took one careful look at Veronica, then shifted his a measuring gaze at Coil.

"Now look here, Lung. This isn't what it looks like. This girl is not your daughter. She's a Stranger who convinced-"

But Lung was having none of it. He opened his reptilian mouth and breathed a flame of hot blue. Just before it reached him, Coil collapsed that universe and immediately split up a pair of new ones.

He was still in his office, finishing off a slightly more elaborate lunch. Veronica, clad in her own version of his costume, happily munched up the last of her sandwich. "Did you have a good meal?"

"Yes dad." Veronica replied, smiling innocently at him.

In one universe, Coil kept up the ruse of pretending that he didn't know Veronica's game. In another, he chose to take immediate action.

"Good, because it's your last." Coil stated as he smoothly lifted his pistol from its holster and shot at his own daughter.

Only for Taylor to collapse that particular universe as soon as she heard the shot, leaving the other Taylor back at the Calvert house, idly watching TV on an average Saturday. She reflexively split the universe in two again and wondered how she set him off. _'Gosh, these split universes are a pain in the ass to deal with.'_

She looked outside the window of her dad's home, only to notice a few surreptitiously parked vans that hadn't been there an hour earlier. As if she crossed a hidden line, the vans slid open their doors and let out a stream of highly armed mercenaries, their intent clear as day.

In one universe, Taylor used the skills she gleaned from Victor to good use. She set up an ambush, felling the first team by dropping furniture from the stairs. She took their guns and ammo and proceeded to outshine the hired goons with pure skill and confidence. Even as they threw in smoke grenades, Taylor managed to reap quite a body count, only for her luck to end as a stray bullet hit her leg. The weight of numbers took care of the rest, and she was quickly subdued.

Luckily, she fared better in the other universe. The phones were jammed but her Tinkertech watch had no problem piercing through the noise. She called 911, and as soon as she mentioned that a house belonging to a high-up local PRT officer was at threat, she got a promise that the Protectorate was on the way. With that done, she hunkered down and planned to stall the mercenaries as long as possible. She managed to kill and delay them long enough to force their retreat, though that left Taylor surrounded by the Protectorate. She reluctantly surrendered herself to Armsmaster's custody and she was now on route to the Protectorate Base in order to be questioned about the incident.

That was unacceptable to Coil. The Protectorate would be wondering why his house was under attack, and his dear daughter had no reason to withhold any dirt. He collapsed that particular universe, leaving him with the one where he had taken a day off from his supervillain duties. He had Veronica curled up against him, hugging her affectionately even as he knew what a fraud she was. He split up the universe again and planned for yet another way to subdue his fake daughter. They smiled at each other, each plotting each other's downfall with the power of destiny at their fingertips.


	10. X

**Daddy's Girl X**

Getting away from Coil had not been easy for Taylor. Eventually they both decided to part with each other after finding out the futility of doing anything else. Coil always had that monster called Noelle at his reserve while Taylor had Lung covering her back. She supposed she was lucky she got away with it knowing how Coil's powers worked and his real identity. Discovering that Coil was not only a long time PRT associate, but also what he had hidden deep within his vault had scared her quite enough.

She needed to reflect on what she learned.

Taylor sat on the roof of a store, watching the placid Atlantic Ocean. "Hi mom."

Her mother wasn't here, she wasn't anywhere. Yet when Taylor was younger, she always imagined her mother was still out there, drifting, watching over her daughter. Now that she was a little older, Taylor lost some of those delusions, but it was still nice to imagine.

"I learned a lot of things ever since I got my powers. Bad things. Important things. It's.. worse than I thought."

A morbid laugh escaped her lips. "It's so funny, it's sad. I tried so much to escape from my school, only to find out Brockton Bay is nothing different. You've got the gangs, bullying the citizens and keeping them down. The only source of authority that can do anything against supervillains are the Protectorate, but like the teachers at my school they're too afraid to act, more concerned with popularity than the well being of the people they are supposed to protect."

That was absolutely unforgivable to Taylor. How many people were crying out for help, only for the Protectorate to turn a blind eye? Scum like the Empire Eighty-Eight were allowed to bully the people with impunity, only to occasionally receive a slap on the wrist if they were being stupid about it. And even if the Protectorate managed to capture a villain, they always transported them to the Birdcage in lightly guarded convoys that just begged to robbed. And it was all for what?

"The worst part of it is how the Protectorate goes along with this garbage. They fixate on the Endbringers so much they completely forget the real victims. I'm glad I didn't join the Wards. I will _never_ become a part of their organization. They're nothing but paper tigers. No, if I want to do anything to help the city, I have to do it myself."

Taylor had been blessed with power for a reason. She was not about to waste it by playing the game that other heroes and villains participated in. No, she was going to embrace her power, break the rules and _free_ Brockton Bay from the filth that destroyed it piece by piece.

"I swear I'll make this city better, mom. I won't let anyone suffer from bullies like I had. No one was there at Winslow to save me when I needed it most, but that doesn't mean I can turn my back on others. I'll be a hero in my own way. I'll show the phonies at the Protectorate how it's really done."

She stood up, and after sparing a final glance at the bay, she left.

Elsewhere, Danny Hebert took another gulp of his bottle of beer, only to realize it was empty. He pushed away the useless container and picked up the picture frame on his table. It depicted his budding family at its prime, when his wife was still alive and his daughter still a sweet young girl._'How could it all have gone wrong, Annette?'_

Back then, everything was better. The ferry sailed each day and other ships kept the docks busy. The Endbringers were something scary, but a distant threat at most. Then, slowly, everything went to hell.

The world kept taking pieces out of his life. First the livelihood of his workers. Then his partner in life. Now, finally, it took his most precious possession, the one thing he couldn't bear to be without: his daughter.

"I'm sorry, Taylor, I'm sorry." He cried, bursting into tears at the suffering she had gone through. He went through her notes himself before he handed it over to the PRT, and it made him realize for the first time how completely he failed as a parent. "I didn't know.. if I knew.. if I made you tell me without hitting you.. oh God I wish I hadn't done that.."

Nothing could bring back his daughter now, not after what he'd done. Not even after the PRT got off their lazy asses and got the school and police to do something about the three harpies that made his daughter's life hell. The letter he received earlier this morning didn't help matters either. The formally worded apology flew right past his head, and the generous compensation they gifted him felt like blood money.

_'It's too late.'_

Danny felt disgusted by it all. Not only at the impotence of the school and the authorities, but also at his helplessness. He couldn't do anything to save his wife or his daughter. Even now, knowing that his Taylor was running around, replacing him with other men who didn't deserve to have her as their child, he could do nothing to bring her back. _'It's the city. It's taken everything from me.'_

He couldn't take it anymore. He had to get away. He placed the frame back on the table, went over to the phone and called a colleague.

"Hey, I'm sorry for calling you so late. I just wanted to inform you of my decision. I'm.. resigning from the Dockworkers Association. I can't bear to live in Brockton Bay anymore. I hope you understand."

Danny was not going to let the city take anything else from him. He was going to cut ties and start a new life as far away as he could with his money. _'I'm sorry Taylor. I can't stay here in this empty house. I can't suffer this silence in the eventual hope you'd come to your senses and come back to me. You're right Taylor, I'm just not strong enough to be there for you. I.. I hope you're happy with your new dad, whoever it may be.'_

The tears flowed anew, but he had more than enough to shed.


End file.
